Playing Pretend
by purehaku
Summary: Sakura has a new plan to make Sasuke notice her by hiring herself a pretend date. See whathappens when Sakura's plan takes it's twists and turns when she realizes what she truly wants.


For a while now I've been hounding for really good nejiXsaku fics… and now, I've written one. Yeah, I'm liking this pairing more than anyone else! So if you don't like this pairing… not my fault.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and anything in relation to it.

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**Playing Pretend**

One: Devious Plan 101!

Trailing her hands on the glossy book covers and magazines, the pink haired kunoichi frowned while looking for something interesting to read. An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she gazed at the cover stories. Just when she needed to lighten her head up from the raven-haired Uchiha boy, the environment just makes it worse. She grabbed a magazine, muttering as she read one cover heading. "Get your man in 10 seconds or less!" Sakura groaned, returning it back to the shelf and shifted her eyes back to the other magazines. Like that would happen if she tries it on Sasuke.

"Yeah right." Sakura said to herself annoyingly, wondering if Sasuke would ever surpass his judgment of her as more than a screaming fan girl. _Not that it wasn't true._ She could hear her inner self say as she clenched her fist in defiance. "I am so not a fan girl…" she muttered yet again. Well, maybe she was.

But she can be more than that.

The bookstore door creaked open, but Sakura didn't mind it as she grabbed another magazine with one heading saying: Make Him Notice You (Women's Devious Plan!). Raising her eyebrow in thought, she flipped it on the designated page and scanned the article.

**Men are often competitive. Is this important? Not really, but if you look at it in a different light, you could make it an advantage to you and thus lure him to you! That's right, this is the most used plan gals pull on their guys! Yeah, you have pledged your undying love for him; swear your whole life waiting for him but it still didn't budge him? Time for our Devious Plan!**

**Men are usually competitive in many aspects. May it be sports, food… you name it! And of course, they also exemplify that kind of attitude towards the gal they like. The more men around her, the more his interest for her grows. Interesting, huh? Now's the time to take this chance girl friend and you can hook your guy in no time!**

**First and foremost, find a guy – **

"I've read enough to keep me interested." Sakura said to herself, smiling.

Meanwhile, at the farthest shelf of the shop stood the customer who had just gone in; the infamous brunette boy of the Hyuuga clan. A look of seriousness was placed on his face as he looked at the books displayed in front of him. His brows met as he grabbed one cookbook. He had always hated doing an errand for his cousin Hinata but who was he to say no.

Hyuuga Neji gave a small frown as he headed towards the cashier, oblivious to the fact that his pink-haired genin comrade was in the shop as well. Neji averted his gaze from the cashier woman, knowing what she was thinking. His gaze landed at the side of the counter where in a small book stand contained two new book releases; both having the same shade of dark red color. One of which he realized was the book that the jounin Kakashi was always reading: Icha Icha Paradise Special Edition: White Water Escapade. The Hyuuga prodigy gave an exasperated look. What it was he had no idea. The other was a collection of some of the best shinobi biographies and stories in Konoha from past till now.

It had stirred up his interest as he tried to fish out his money; his coins dropped noisily on the floor. Neji muttered frustratingly under his breath as he crouched down and picked them up.

Sakura had now walked up to the cashier, her payment already in hand, as she placed the magazine on the cashier table. Her eyes then looked down at the crouched person, who was busy picking up coins. She was about to help him when the cashier woman gave her back the magazine.

Saying her thanks, Sakura grabbed her package and, upon noticing the person has picked up all his coins, turned around and headed towards the door.

The Hyuuga genin stood up with a sour look on his face. Obviously, this day wasn't working for him too well. He placed his payment on the counter and just grabbed one of the books that he wanted from the bookstand and left.

He arrived at the Hyuuga household a few minutes after his departure and had met up with Hinata along the hallway.

"Arigatou!" Hinata expressed happily as she clutched the book in her arms. "As soon as I'm able to cook, I'll offer you the first platter." Hinata said, waving goodbye to his cousin as she proceeded to her room.

Neji muttered a 'hmph' and placed his package underneath his arm and went to his own. A good rest will do. He entered his room; peace has finally settled in him as he sat down on his bunk, reaching for his brush & ink. It's been a habit of him to always name his things. That way, it won't get lost. Plus, it's organized and practical.

He got the book from its package and placed it faced down on his bed. The back side was just plain red so Neji dipped his brush in the ink and scribed his name at the back. Satisfied with how he had written it, he waited for it to dry for a few moments then turned it over and held it up in front of his face.

"What the!"

He groaned inwardly as he stared incredulously at the title. Icha Icha Paradise Special Edition: White Water Escapade. He swore quietly. He hated making mistakes.

Out of curiosity, he flipped the book open and read some of its contents. As he scanned the paragraphs, a faint blush settled on his cheeks as he immediately closed it. "Now I know why Kakashi reads it…" he muttered. There was no way he was going to keep that book.

Neji gave out another irritated groan. He would hate to think about other people knowing this stupid mistake.

It'll be his first scandal.

He placed it back in the package bag and walked out of the household. Hopefully, no one will notice that he had just purchased an Icha Icha Book. If either Tenten or the others knew this, their respect for him will vanish.

Neji strode quickly towards the bookshop, all the while his mind preoccupied of the jeers Tenten or Lee would make once they knew of his small mistake of purchasing a book.

He was too busy thinking that he had bumped into someone, causing the person to fall down on the ground with force as her purchases and Neji's fell as well.

"Ow, that hurt…Hyuuga-san?"

The familiar voice made the brunette look down at the fallen figure. "You." He said placidly as he picked up his covered book from the ground.

Sakura grabbed hers as well and gave Neji an apologetic look. "Sorry, I wasn't looking." She said, Neji on the other hand, now walking away from her in a hurry.

The pink haired genin shrugged her shoulders. From Tenten's story, the Hyuuga boy has always been like that. After dusting herself off, she had decided it was time to go home.

"Ah, this day is good after all!" she said happily. After purchasing the life-saving magazine, Sakura went straight to Ino's flower shop to gush over the article with her blonde friend.

Sakura gazed up at the now dimming sky of Konoha and giggled. "Hmm, I wonder who I should ask to be my accomplice."

Naruto was out of the question. Sasuke would never get jealous of him!

Lee is an option, but then again Sasuke wouldn't get jealous of him.

Kiba? Scratch that.

Shikamaru? Earse! He'd look nicer with Ino.

Shino? She shivered nervously. The idea of spending a day with Shino and his pets made her cringe. Plus, Shino wouldn't like to spend a day with her. They barely know each other after all.

How about Neji? Sakura had to laugh. There was no way that Hyuuga Neji would comply to her request.

As she neared her apartment, she fished her magazine out of the bag. To her horror, she stopped dead in her tracks and gazed at the book she's holding.

"Icha Icha Paradise Special Edition: White Water Escapade! Where's my magazine?" Sakura said mortified. Only when she traced back her steps in her mind was she able to realize where she had dropped her magazine. "I had dropped it when I bumped into Neji. Sakura, you stupid!" she yelled infuriatingly at herself as she turned the book around and surprisingly found the owner's name written on the book's back. The expression on her face turned from annoyance to shock as she read the owner's name.

"Hyuuga Neji!"

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hehe… I hope you like this one. Sorry if I haven't updated my other stories yet. I'm also RPing in Naruto:Shinkigen as a Hyuuga member. Requires fancy quality writing and my jutsu requires at least 8 pages more! sigh oh boy, hope you guys review coz it'll make me feel a lot better! 


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